Friday, July 29, 2016

GIFt



I'm just posting this cause I thought it was cool

Monday, July 25, 2016

Vote for a Billionaire? Never

   

  I would never willingly vote for a billionaire. Billionaires hoard wealth and resources. Billionaires buy up the world's assets, and rent it back to us for profit. Billionaires contribute very little, if nothing at all, to the common good. Billionaires add no actual quality to the human condition, and they have the leverage needed to stagnate change and keep a rigged system in place. Billionaires simply do not carry the weight that they lay on the public body. To be a billionaire, one has to disconnect from the human race and embrace absolute greed as an identity of self.
   I am bashing the rich without a doubt, and rightfully so. To be a multi-billionaire, one must disengage from having a human soul completely. In short, being exceedingly rich causes unnecessary social imbalance. To be a multi-billionaire, a person must be determined to increase his own wealth astronomically beyond what would ever be necessary to spend in a lifetime, at a detriment to the rest of us. 
   Take this simple exercise. Imagine you are immortal (you have to or you won't live to the end of this experiment). Imagine on day 1 of the year 0001 a.d. you struck it rich somehow and became the recipient of one billion dollars. Now, suppose you spent $1,000 every single day, all through history to the present. How much money would you have left if any? You would still have $264,160,000. Here is the math: 365 days per year, multiplied by 2016 years, gives us  735,840 days. Multiply that amount by 1,000 dollars and we see the sum total spent as 735,840,000 dollars. Still over 264 million dollars left in the till.  
   Now I'm not sure about you, but my lifestyle doesn't cost anywhere near $1,000 per day, but that is the rate you would have to spend for 2,016 years straight just to reduce that lump of lettuce to a quarter of what it was. Knowing that, how on earth can you justify one person controlling multiple billions of dollars?                                  
   According to Forbes magazine, Donald Trump is worth 4.5 billion dollars. Let that sink in, and then ponder why you would vote for such a greedy pig to be the president of the United States. If Trump wanted to use his assets to do something positive, he has had over thirty years to demonstrate his willingness to help.
  You might opine that Hillary Clinton is also very wealthy, and she is. But her wealth is estimated to be roughly thirty million dollars, according to Forbes. Far less than what would be left over from the hypothetical daily thousand spent since day one. When you vote this fall, consider for yourself if voting for a multi-billionaire is a wise move. Ask yourself if this guy would help another human, or if he would just have his henchmen remove the riff-raff from the room.

Friday, July 22, 2016

All I Want for Christmas Is an NES Classic




This is what I want for Christmas. Perfect for an old guy who doesn't want to spend any money, and who also doesn't care that it is 2016.  I have slipped in and out of gaming since I was a young kid blowing his paper route money every week for a two hour arcade reality escape. Pac Man and Space Invaders were my faves, but I liked Defender, Asteroids, and Joust just the same. I liked them because I'm a simple guy, and I like simple games. I have been out of the gamer loop for many years now, which is fine since I don't have the physical dexterity to work a controller anymore. While graphics have gotten far better, it seems the games themselves aren't as fun as they used to be. Of course, I suppose a mid-forties man shouldn't find video games fun at all. But I think having an all-in-one retro gaming solution like the NES Classic, for only $60 is not only justifiable, but downright necessary. Santa, I know it's only July, but I've been very good this year so far.

Alex Jones is Whack, Yo (part II TYT style)



  File this under What the Fuck, as everyone's favorite antagonist Alex Jones and super creep Roger Stone crash the set of TYT during the RNC in Cleveland. Alex Jones doesn't understand it's not cool to invite yourself to someone else's party; and he has had his opportunity to plead his case as a guest on TYT already.
  If you ever thought for a moment that Alex Jones was a credible news source and respectable journalist, this will prove you wrong. The amount of support he gets for his antics from his fan base should be a solid sign of the impending apocalypse. If this is now considered acceptable behavior in today's news consuming environment, then our standards have bottomed out. But why should I continue on about this when Cenk Uygur can give his first hand rebuke of the event right here?


  As a side note, it's rather creepy how Alex Jones puts his hands on people he is accosting.  This is a man who would be quick to shoot anyone invading his personal space or walking in unexpectedly to his radio studio. Yet he feels it's perfectly fine to touch strangers and intimidate them in public while insulting them with lies and distortions. Watch him feeling up Karl Rove just days before at the airport, and notice the similarity to how he approaches Cenk Uygur.   Alex Jones actually used this footage on his program without realizing what an ass he makes of himself. Keep your hands to yourself, and don't pretend to be friendly when you're not.








Tuesday, July 19, 2016

Postmates




  I have seen an advertisement for an app called Postmates scroll across my newsfeed several times and so I thought I would look it up to see what it is all about. It turns out to be very similar to Uber, if you have ever used that. Instead of an app that summons a driver to take you where  you want to go with out exchanging actual currency, you are sending out for a courier who will bring you not just food, but almost anything you can think of within reason. The use of the app will drive up the cost of whatever it is that you are having delivered, but if you don't mind paying extra it is more than convenient when you absolutely don't want to leave the house.
Image result for postmates  I have only used it one time but I was totally impressed. Erika and I were relaxing on the couch last Saturday night. It was after 11:00 p.m. Now who has never wished that McDonald's delivers? I downloaded the Postmates app, entered my payment information, selected what I want from the McDonald's menu, which is worked into the app, and in 45 minutes I had two double cheese burgers and a 20 piece McNugget delivered to my door, no need for cash. There is a delivery charge for the driver, a small service fee so Postmates gets a cut, and a tip which can be set for any percentage you feel is fair. So my $9 McDonald's meal ended up being about $17. Much more expensive, but if you're too lazy to leave the house, or stranded somewhere without wheels, this app is awesome. Like Uber it is based on a rating system so you and your courier should behave amicably. 
  To make things even better, they will do more than pick up your food. They will pick up items from the store for you, or prescriptions, or most anything you need. It's like having a personal assistant on demand. I have yet to use Postmates for anything else but my first experience with it was amazing. I think this is something that will really take off.


Monday, July 18, 2016

Settling In

After not  much time at all we are fully moved over to our new location. Now we need to settle in. Unpacking may not be as simple as last time. Even though there is much more space, there doesn't seem to be a very logical place to set up my junk. I'm far from any power source, and we still need to determine where to throw away the scrap metal that accumulates. For now we have set up my old banquet table work space but it needs some help for sure. Today should be spent mostly figuring out where to put things, and where those things even are. Until later...

Monday, July 11, 2016

Almost Out of Here



So there's not a whole lot to report on today. Just finishing up the big move into the next warehouse. Stacking pallets with junk is about the only thing going on. I'm essentially done for the day as far as standing and moving stuff. Look how empty this place is now.


 I'm good for a couple of hours and then it's MS time again. For me that is when my symptoms flare up, usually after small amounts of physical activity, which translates into burning feet, and wobbly balance. Once I sit for a few minutes I'm okay but my real strength doesn't fully return till after some sleep.  I have this situation in my right foot where my big toe curls up like a gorilla's toe-thumb. I have no control over it. It's like my body's natural way of  trying to turn my foot into a hand that can grasp the smooth surface I am standing on. It usually occurs when I am bare foot on a smooth floor, and is normally the end result of standing too long. Anymore than 5 to 10 minutes is the longest I can be upright. MS is a real mah fuckah. I'd like to snap a photo of my foot some time as it does look like a monkey foot when my toe does this.

I'm sort of shocked by how well the move has been going. I was not looking forward to it at all, but my co-workers have really gotten a jump on it, which is great considering I am too weak to engage in this sort of activity. We were actually held up for a couple of weeks while some repairs were being made to the next building. Not having a deadline to be out of the old building has made it a lot let stressful. Last year when we moved into the current building we had only a week, and it was much hotter then. This July has been the coolest in recent memory, and I thank the gods for their mercy.

Thursday, July 7, 2016

Arky Melarkey

I had only heard recently that there is a $100 million replica of Noah's ark nearing completion in the great state of Kentucky. Apparently it was built to the exact specifications in the Old Testament, which in its self is rather dubious.
(below: a prehistoric crane and propane tank)



 I doubt that if three separate construction engineers were to take on the same task using their own interpretations from the good book's textual blueprints, they would achieve the same results. And setting aside the obvious observation (couldn't a hundred million dollars be better spent on something worthwhile?), my take on this is, if they wanted to build a monstrosity to prove the truth of the famous flood story, why didn't they go all the way and use the same number of people and types of materials as the bible claims were used?
(below: the bible didn't specify a concrete foundation)



 How am I going to be convinced that an old man with just a few helping hands could pull this off in a short period of time when modern man needed teams of construction workers, electricity, gas, industrial steel, polymer bonding and forming agents, cranes, hydraulic lifts, plywood, scaffolding, vehicles, and tons of money? Not to mention the impossible task of rounding up a pair of every species, acclimated or not, co-habitable or not (prey bunking with predator-how quaint), including dinosaurs.

(above: ancient steel scaffolding)
I'm not writing this because I think the Noah story needs debunking. I think it practically debunks its self. The whole thing requires a major suspension of belief and common sense. I'm more or less concerned about the total disregard for detail. If Ken Ham wants to provide us with Answers in Genesis, shouldn't he stick to the story, and avoid using modern tools and materials for his proof of the flood story's validity? I am hardly convinced.


(above: ancient battery powered portable drill)

Tuesday, July 5, 2016

She Was a 10 at 2, and a 2 at 10


Alex Jones Is Whack, Yo





I used to listen to Alex Jones, a lot, taken with a large sprinkle of rock salt. I never jumped fully on to his total conspiracy views because everything always came back to, There comin' for yer guns! which wasn't something I was very concerned about. Like taking a burger from a vegan. Who cares? But I always liked his fervor and high energy when it came to attacking inconsistencies in the 9/11 tale. I was quickly turned off to Alex Jones after Obama was elected and he produced a crappy film called The Obama Deception which in it's self was obviously a deception. Then he made an ass of himself immediately after the Sandy Hook massacre and the Boston Marathon bombings, predictably labeling both events as hoaxes. No need to deconstruct Alex Jones's BS here, as most of his flaws are self evident, and magnified by his own unhinged personality. 
  He has been at it for many, many years. I remember when he was a reporter(?) on a show called Hard Copy, back in the late 1980's, and he was doing black-op helicopter and FEMA camp stories back then. Alex Jones has propagated paranoia and uncertainty for almost 30 years. There are volumes of bogus predictions too numerous to track, going back for years which should have clued in even the most dense of patriot movement dupes, that he is a fraud. It wouldn't matter at all if he was dismissed for the hack that he is, but instead dangerous and unbalanced individuals buy into his alarmist form of journalism. Gullible Americans actually change their living habits under this man's misguidance.
  I couldn't resist this tweet I saw on my feed today. I am not posting this here to defend Hillary in any way. I know as well as anyone that the Democratic primaries were rigged against Bernie Sanders. This is more about the stupidity of the tweet he posted. A photo of Hillary Clinton, taken easily over five years ago, smiling. Is this supposed to make me think? Oooh, just look at the evil in her eyes. That just says it all, doesn't it? What else do you need to know? Alex Jones is just too silly to be taken seriously any more. But if you do have a high tolerance for baseless journalism, visit his websites. You'll either laugh or cry, depending on your own level of gullibility.

Infowars

Prison Planet





Friday, July 1, 2016

Theme Update

I updated the theme to this blog. It was in dire need of  a wallpaper change. I never realized how poorly it was laid out before. The main column was too narrow and it was causing my posts to appear longer than they actually are, and keeping them hard to read at the same time. I'm liking the new look because it is more soothing to the eyes. I just  used a standard design template and color scheme. For once I am forgoing the customization process and handing it over to the design experts.

Jupiter Auroras

Jupiter is my favorite planet and now even more so. I'm guessing this is the first time the auroras have been observed. I had never heard of them before. The  pictures coming in from the Hubble are brilliant and clear. Blue lights occurring near the magnetic pole. Nature is beautiful.

Jupiter Auroras